plate I.I · the language

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cr8script·atlas

an atlas of a small language, drawn for the agents who write it

cr8script is an English-shaped scripting language for LLMs and anyone who wants quick scripts without Python's footguns. One file. No build. No imports. It refuses truthy/falsy, refuses silent type mixing, and prints 0.1 + 0.2 = 0.3 exactly. Pipelines on lists of records read like SQL; errors name the line, the value, and the fix.

view on github ↗ see a sample ↓ llms.txt ↗

chart key Syntax Pipelines Types Built-ins Tooling Principles

plate I.II · the atlas

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fig. i — the language, charted by category generated by examples/make_mindmap.cr8

plate II.I · what makes it different

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The premise is unfashionable: a language whose refusals are the feature. cr8script will not let "5" + 3 be a string. It will not let if 0 then be falsy. It will not silently swallow a typo'd field name. The error messages know the line and the value, and offer a fix.

refused, by design

truthy / falsy · == != >= <= · silent type coercion · null / undefined · classes & methods

kept, with intent

let & var · nothing · is at least · for each in · group by · summarize · f"{x}"

made for agents

A surface so small that an LLM rarely gets it wrong. The static checker emits { line, message, hint } JSON so a model can self-correct before running.

plate II.II · a taste

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a taste, in cr8

fig. ii — pipelines · group by · summarize

sample.cr8# sales — list of records
let sales = [
  { product: "widget", region: "east", amount: 12.50 },
  { product: "gadget", region: "east", amount:  8.00 },
  { product: "widget", region: "west", amount: 15.00 },
  { product: "doodad", region: "east", amount: 99.00 },
]

let by_product = sales
  | group by product
  | summarize { total: sum(amount), n: length(items) }
  | sort by total descending

for each row in by_product
  show f"{row.product}: {row.total} across {row.n} order(s)"
end

stdoutdoodad: 99 across 1 order(s)
widget: 27.5 across 2 order(s)
gadget: 8 across 1 order(s)

plate III.I · six provinces

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the six provinces

fig. iii — the whole surface area

i. syntax

Syntax

let immutable · var mutable
to name(...) defines a function · end closes the block
if · then · else · end — also an expression
for each n in 1..5
repeat 3 times
try / otherwise as err
f"hello {name}" interpolation

ii. pipelines

Pipelines

where · filter
sort by · ascending / descending
take · first n
map · transform
group by · yields {key, items}
summarize { ... } · roll up
bare names auto-resolve to record fields

iii. types

Types

number — one decimal type, 0.1+0.2=0.3
text — sealed strings, no coercion
boolean — only in conditions, no truthy/falsy
list — 1-based indexing
record — values, not objects
nothing — the only absence

iv. built-ins

Built-ins

math · sqrt · pow · pi · e
http · get returns { ok, status, body }
time · now · sleep
json · parse · stringify
csv · parse · write
sum / count / average / min / max

v. tooling

Tooling

REPL · python3 cr8script.py
--check · static field-access checks
--check-json · structured for LLMs
--test · golden suite
--lex / --ast · debug dumps
tour.cr8 · the language end-to-end

vi. principles

Principles

One way to do each thing
No invisible syntax — blocks end with end
Reads like English
Strong, honest types
Errors that teach (line · value · hint)
Determinism over cleverness

plate IV.I · run it

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run it

python 3.9+ · no pip · no flags

$ python3 cr8script.py examples/tour.cr8 language tour

$ python3 cr8script.py repl

$ python3 cr8script.py --test golden suite

$ python3 cr8script.py --check-json file.cr8 llm correction loop

plate IV.II · for language models

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for language models

discovery · llmstxt.org · self-correction

cr8script is built so an agent can write it correctly the first time. Two files exist for that purpose:

/llms.txt — discovery file at this site's root, following the llmstxt.org convention. A pointer table, in markdown.
LLMS.md — a condensed grammar & rules sheet inside the language repo. Hard rules first, then the cheat sheet, then idioms.
--check-json emits { line, message, hint } diagnostics — iterate against the static checker before running.